Happy Armed Forces Day!
It’s so easy to make a card to appreciate our heroes 
This simple card uses some Coredinations paper, sanded, a Stampendous Eagle stamp, a little May Arts 2 sided ribbon…and a star. WIth some paper layers, what could be more perfect?
Stay tuned…perhaps, oh, next week or so….for a coloring tut with this eagle. Maybe. If I have time. It’s my plan to do one for the big bloghop – and I’m hoping it comes together quick like a bunny! Or an eaglet. Coz I’m running short on time!
Bunny love
Hey gang – tonight is the 100th episode of OWHtv…be sure to tune in! I have 100 things to give away!!!!
It just occurred to me it’s kinda been SRM Sticker week around here. LOL. I guess I get on a kick with something and just keep going…I just love the bold simplicity of their stickers
And I colored up an MFT bunny….not sure what I was thinking with his electric ears, but I do like how the heart came out! (That’s an XOXO sticker on it.) Oh yeah and this is yet more paper from the same yummy MME stack from all week. Maybe I’ll eventually use it up! And why is it I can never tell that my brads are misaligned til the photo gets taken? Agh. Fortunately I can go redo it before putting it in the OWH box
Copic colors RV04 RV02 E97 E37 E29
Have a hopping great day!
Read More’tis Monday…goin’ out of the box!
I figured since Nancy featured the Out of the Box tutorial last week, maybe I’d actually post a card for it before the next tutorial goes up – ha! I’m usually months behind on joining in on them, but I’m attempting to be better about that!
I used a sweet stamp called Silver Fairy from WeeStamps - she’s so cute! I paired her with some papers from MME’s Sunny Side collection (YUM)…a little May Arts chevron ribbon, an SRM sentiment…done! I love how she came out looking like she’s chatting with the little birdie in the Basic Grey brad 
To go outside the box, I put the paper into my trimmer and cut *almost* to the wing sticking out. Then cut the other direction the same. The last bit was carefully cut by hand. I coulda used a die, yes, but I was at a friend’s and decided I’d just go the old-fashioned route!
Copic colors: Hair B06 B04 B01 Wings BG0000 Y04 Y17; Dress Y04 Y17 Y19 YR15 Skin E51 E11 BV000 Outline C2 C00
Read MoreFoxy fox from Hero Arts
Gooooooood Sunday morning to you! I hope your weekend’s progressing nicely! I was blessed to be able to take part of yesterday off and go play with my stampin’ sistahs….I love that! I thought I’d have to get back home early, but I stayed up late Friday to get to a good stopping point on some projects – so I gave myself a day to play. (Had to get back on it last night, but at least I had some playtime!!
This is a card I made last week for a sweet lady who worked at my office; they eliminated her position (dangit!!!), and I just wanted to thank her for everything she’s done. And get this – she loved doing her job so much she’s requesting to volunteer at the office for a day each week instead. Can you believe that!?! Talk about dedication. Love you KH!
I used a Hero Arts fox for this card…I can’t seem to find it in their store, but look for E5465 if this is a little fox ya just need to have! Papers by BoBunny, sentiment by SRM stickers, border punch by Fiskars.
VCMP Beribboned missing-you guy card?
Today’s card is, I hope, a little masculine. Not so sure I pulled it off? I made it for the missing you challenge for ODBD….and I wanted to see if this new ribbon I got from May Arts worked as masculine ribbon. Whatcha think?
Lots of folks say they want alternatives to “missing you” on a missing you card. I put a lot of other sentiments in my missing you sections. Things like this one as well as anything about ‘dreaming of home’ or ‘no place like home’ etc. Since we don’t get as many of the other themes as we do the general cards, I kinda get generous with the cards that are on the border between thinking of you and the others. My rule of thumb – thinking of you cards *could* go to a loved one but could also go to a coworker back home, a teacher, or anyone. The love and missing you cards are more personal and lovey for intimate family. Hope that makes sense!
Paper is by Authentique.
Read MoreVCMP: Happy National Scrapbook Day!
I hope you’re having a great NSD so far! I’m excited to be a host for one of the VCMP (Virtual Card Making Party) challenges over at the Stars and Stamps blog!!
Note: I’m out for a few hours today (bad timing on a VCMP day!) but….tweet me with your links! Use the hashtag #nsdowh and check HERE to see what everyone else is tweeting too! (If that link doesn’t work, go to tweetchat.com, then enter nsdowh into the search bar!)
My challenge to you comes from one of our heroes; his note in the card request just touched my heart!
Hello, We have a whole building that this will come to, but if you could add some personal ones for me that would be great. My wife and I are not doing so well with the military training and deployments. We got married as soon as I joined, once I leave here in October, we will have spent 2 out of 4.5 years apart in our marriage. As a result, we are not doing so well. If you could add in some “romance” cards, that would be great. It’ll take some thinking out of my brain and hopefully keep our marriage together. Thank you for your support.
So….go make a romantic card! And I’m going to throw in a twist: use one of our OWH tutorials! They’re on our Pinterest board HERE – so pick out one to try! I used the Dimensional Ruffle card tutorial HERE….it was once really popular but has lost a little favor lately!
I used papers from MME, and a little May Arts ribbon 
Enjoy life!
TGIF friends ‘n readers! I don’t have time for stories, just a little card here to share…I colored this Twirl Anya from The Greeting Farm on cream paper, and I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. LOL. I like white But….once in a while ya gotta do something crazee
Copic colors G12 G20 E53 E00 E11 BV000 RV52 RV09 R34 E39 YR27 E57 E49
Hope you have some fun ‘n crafty plans for the weekend ahead!
Read MoreSweet Blossom
Since April showers bring May flowers – I figured some flowers were appropriate for today’s card! As well as this sweet little image from Wee Stamps – Sweet Blossom. Ain’t she just the cutest?
Copic colors: G29 YG05 E25 E33 E99 E31 E51 E11 BV00 RV10 YR16 Y17 Y08 Y06 Y23 G000 Paper is by My Mind’s Eye, the flower is by May Arts.
The design’s super simple…since I seem to be losing hours on my clock lately. LOL. Someone’s stealin’ em…..
Thankful for growth
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growth.
When I was young, I had always wondered about all those people who did crazy things in middle-age (some good and some not-so-good!) and what made them suddenly go nuts – and I’m starting to think I might know. And I think I’m experiencing some of it.
Middle age is when a lot of us really start feeling comfortable in our own skin. The pressures of youth are gone and we’ve lived a bit of life. We find that the things that seemed so “big” when we were younger really weren’t all that important after all. And the things we thought we were or would become – those change. We get a bit more real with ourselves, with our friends and family, and with God. We know what makes us tick at a level we didn’t even know existed before. And we start figuring out that we do have the ability to do and be what we once dreamt of doing and being – things others had told us weren’t possible. We finally can relax in being ourselves, knowing better than ever before what we were made to do, and then figure out how to get there.
I thought I’d do a little navel-gazing and share ten things I’m thankful to have learned about me….most of the things on this list are just the beginnings of changes, new adventures, things that I’m ok with doing/being, now that I’m “old.” Stuff that young Sandy would have rolled her eyes at….but old Sandy is perfectly fine with!
- I need to make a difference. I’d never be happy just selling widgets. For a season I worked in advertising and that was plain miserable. I need to do something with my life that’ll change things around me for the better. And it helps me feel fulfilled when I can SEE I’m making an impact. Getting letters like this remind me that what I work so very hard at in Operation Write Home is doing so much good for so many people. It’s not everyone who gets to touch lives this way….and I never want to lose sight of that.
- I need an inspiring workspace. I was feeling creatively fried before the recent renovation. Barely able to function. But my new space is beautiful and perfect just for me. I love the color, how it’s organized, that the daybed is the most comfy place in the universe. And if the space around me is that important to getting my creativity on-track, I needed to do the renovation, and am so glad I did.
- I’m checking some big stuff off my lists. Like the dentist. (Don’t laugh. That’s big on my list.) And home renovation. And learning Copic Airbrush. And taking better care of me. And making some big decisions about what my life direction will be.
- I need a range of people who inspire me. Not only our heroes, and my fellow cardmakers. But I’ve started to find people “ahead” of me in various areas that I want to grow in. And not just in the art arenas….but people doing innovative things in fields not even remotely related to what I’m interested in. Inspiration in places that are making me think in whole new ways. And I thrive on that. This kind of thing led to the ICP – who knows where else it’ll go.
- I’m a geek and I’m ok with that! I know, I know, but I gotta geek out. Equipment, software, tools – I may not be all that great about reading manuals, but oh how I love toys. My video camera is one of my faves right now.
- I only like to do the FUN part of gardening. I hired some folks to come clean up the yard, and I am just blown away with the great job they did! I can now go enjoy planting, and not waste the first (and only) couple months of decent gardening weather with pulling weeds. I get to PLANT! The card above was made for the guys doing the hard labor – I figured some star-shaped flowers in a neatly trimmed grassy garden would be appropriate!
- I can write. I don’t just mean put words down on paper. [I mean, I'm a blogger. Bloggers do words!] My dayjob has me working alongside marketing writers, and though I can’t hold a candle to their subject matter knowledge, I’ve discovered writing talents that I didn’t know I was capable of. From writing soothing emails in response to angry donors, to motivational posts, scripts, and marketing proposals…different styles depending on the hats I wear. I’m not sure what the skill is going to do for me going forward, but it’s one I lean on in a lot of areas already.
- I can keep a new years resolution. I’ve actually been walking since the first of the year, and it’s giving me more energy, I’m losing just a little weight, and hopefully this is leading me into a year of being a bit more healthy than before! I never believed I could do this, but I’m stoked that I’ve busted that self-stereotype. Wonder what I’ll do next?
- I’m becoming the art teacher I wanted to be as a little girl. I recently remembered that’s one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up…in college I realized art teachers barely make a living, so decided to go into graphic design. But slowly, ever so incrementally, I’ve become a teacher of sorts, surprising even myself with that realization.
- I love to serve my God who is just So. Very. Good. In the last year, I’ve been experiencing amazing spiritual growth…learning so much about what God has in store for me and how to wait for His timing, being reminded regularly of His character and His amazing love for me, learning how to learn from others and not insist on walking into the same walls myself. I’m seeing promises from many years ago coming true. Things I’d given up on – and never should have. God is faithful and doesn’t deserve my doubts! I’m just glad He forgives me for them and has kept His hand of blessing on my life despite how annoying I can be.
So if you’re an old fart like me – what have you learned about you? Anything that’s changing what you plan to do with your life?
Read MoreSaturday….time to chill? (plus a vlog!)
Absent for too long….two things and a rant!
I figured I’d do a couple more Dad cards before the OWH deadline (April 30)….I had this image I’d colored that took me ages to complete! I’m not one to take this long, usually, but it was hours and hours of coloring and layering to get this one down.
Copics: I had a sticky note (this was colored before my nice notebook went into effect) that was on this one – but it had a bunch of yellows and reds listed. SO I’m guessing that one was for another image. Dagnabbit. If I find the right sticky I’ll come back here and edit! Papers by MME – Stella Rose collection. Stamp by MFT. Ribbon from May Arts.
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